Everything Is Made Of Stars
by ThayEscala
Summary: Changes are coming at a faster pace than the Doctor could have imagined. When somehow the TARDIS crashes into a world with zeppelins in the sky and she meets a kid with curious eyes, her life seems to fall off the rails - or, maybe, fall back in place. [13th/Rose. Title taken from Cavetown's album - go listen to it!]


**Chapter 1: Trouble Magnet**

When the Doctor opened the doors of a steaming TARDIS to face a sky full of flying zeppelins, she wasn't even sure if she should be surprised. Well, yeah, she _should_ , but when the ship's panels had flashed uncontrollably and the engines had shaken like the world was about to end, she already knew big trouble was coming her way. Just _how_ big, she hadn't been able to anticipate, though.

But it was still quite the surprise, because, well, that shouldn't be possible. There was no way she could be sure of it yet, but she certainly hoped her original universe hadn't collapsed on itself as her ship made it through the rift. For all she knew, it could have. It would make sense. She just wished that wasn't the case.

Maybe if this one was somehow still intact, the other had made it through as well. She would have to figure that out. As she would also have to figure out if there was any way for her to go back. Because she had too, and as soon as possible. She had many things to work out, but the first one was probably why in the hell _something_ \- the TARDIS, the universes, the timelines, some unknown being - had thrown her back here.

She glanced back to the blue ship, a thin strip of smoke still visible seeping from the closed door. She knew the TARDIS wouldn't let her in even if she tried, so she had to figure things out without using all the ship's tools while it was still working at fixing itself. With a sigh, she turned away from the tightly shut blue doors and pulled her handmade sonic out, mood swiftly changing to a more energetic one as she waved the device around her, at the buildings and at the sky.

The scene probably would have looked weird for anyone around, so the Doctor was lucky to have landed on a fairly empty alley, behind what seemed to be industrial buildings. Not that it was likely that she would have noticed any stares anyway. From her readings, she was able to pinpoint the time and place where she had landed, not at all surprised to find out she was on the outskirts of London, in what would be about seven years after the time Rose had last seen her (back when she was still _him_ ).

No, she wasn't surprised, because disaster never came in small doses for her. It was always full-blown wrecks. She nodded to herself, face set on what was supposed to be a serious expression, when she decided she would try her best not to let curiosity get the best of her. She wouldn't look for Rose. She couldn't, it wasn't fair - to anyone. She would figure out what this problem was, hope it didn't involve Rose or the Metacrisis in any way, shape or form, solve it, and then get as far away from here as possible. Hopefully, back to her original dimension.

Yeah, that was it. She hopped back towards her TARDIS from the end of the alleyway where she had run to gathering readings, and tried lightly to pull at one of the doors, just in case. Of course, it wouldn't budge. She patted the ship affectionately and turned towards a busier street.

She would have to figure out the problem in some other way. The readings didn't point out anything too odd except from some faint, disconnected vibration of energy that she couldn't identify. Nothing that seemed dangerous enough to pull her here from a different dimension, but it was the one and only clue she had now. She had to try and look somewhere else.

Maybe she would try and find some place with a computer she could modify, she thought as she half ran around the town, getting sideways glances from the crowd that she didn't even register. She kept discreetly gathering reedings from the sonic she held through her coat pocket, sensing the weird energy seeming to become stronger, but getting nothing substantial.

She was busy analizing random stickers glued to shop windows, trying to figure out if anything important was happening around town - apparently, the third edition of the space science fair would present a brand new vacuum cleaner, she discovered with a grimace -, when suddenly something crashed right to the side of her legs. She looked confusedly towards the ground, seeing the top of a small blonde head make it's way around her body, glancing towards her and grabbing her hand.

The little boy had his head towards her now, blonde locks sticking out in a random mess, and the Doctor forgot how to breathe for a moment because the kid looked so oddly _familiar_. Where had she seen him before? His green eyes were glinting with mischief and he had that cheeky smile - the tip of his little tongue just barely showing under his teeth. But the Doctor didn't have time to make sense of any of this, because the kid was still moving and he had her hand in his and his voice was incredibly mirthful as he shouted in her direction:

"Run!"


End file.
